Brittany Arnold

Age: 26

Family: Husband, Chris; daughter, Audrey, 2; and a baby due in June.

Occupation: Stay-at-home mom and wife, writer and blogger

About: From fashion shows, concerts, Blackberries, little black dresses, fine dining and everything else the city life offers to packaging hunted elk meat, shooting guns, casserole dishes, endless laundry and an SUV, join her on this journey from city shaker to green acres.

Brittany is the wife of a logging administrator and mother of a toddler with another one coming in June. She dedicates herself to staying at home but also writes a monthly column, My ABC Soup, for The News-Review, is the publicity leader for Sutherlin's Mothers-of-Preschoolers and is active at her church and in the community. Her blog can be viewed at www.myabcsoup.wordpress.com.

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I love to shop.

Although marriage and children have served me up a plate of reality and a thing called “budgeting,” I still love to shop.

What I’ve realized, besides the fact that God moved me to Douglas County in order to curtail my spending, is that a passionate shopper can also be a purposeful shopper.

Whether getting yourself something or someone else, make the gift extra meaningful by supporting a company that is either faith-based and/or gives to a certain cause.

Here are a few companies to check out:

31 Bits: Kallie Dovel traveled to Uganda in the summer of 2007, getting a firsthand look at life in Northern Uganda. While she was there, she met women making paper beads, but who lacked a plan to market and sell them. After spending time in their homes and hearing their stories, many of them tragic, Kallie felt God telling her to help these women and their families. 31 Bits was designed to give these women an opportunity to counter poverty, equipping them with literacy education, financial and vocational training, holistic care and strong support systems, empowering individuals to further their careers and attain social equity. The company makes adorable jewelry and is partnering with Reef for a shoe collection. Their core value is to show and spread the love of Christ. Shop: 31bits.com

Hobby Lobby: David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby craft stores, is fighting the good fight in federal court, along with his family, against provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act that require certain contraceptive coverage. Green says Hobby Lobby owners object to financing drugs such as Plan B and Ella, which are commonly referred to as "morning-after" or "week-after" pills. Store owners believe those to be abortion-inducing drugs, and because of Green's deeply-held religious conviction that abortion is wrong, he is refusing to provide health care coverage for those types of pills to his employees. The government has put him in the position where he must either violate the law or violate his Christian faith. By refusing, the company faces fines of up to $1.3 million a day. The company’s purposes stated are: “Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles…” and “providing a return on the owners’ investment, sharing the Lord’s blessings with our employees, and investing in our community.” While there isn’t yet a Hobby Lobby store in Oregon, you can shop online at www.hobbylobby.com.

TOMS: TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie is an evangelical Christian who focuses his efforts on equality and battling humanitarian problems around the globe. TOMS matches every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need, protecting them from a number of illnesses, injuries and limitations. Mycoskie continues to strive to meet a variety of needs and says TOMS has the obligation to try and improve as many lives as possible. TOMS expanded its One for One program to now include eyewear. For every pair of TOMS eyeglasses purchased, you provide eyeglasses, surgery or medical treatment to someone in need. Shop: www.toms.com.

Tyson Foods: Chairman John Tyson is a Christian who believes his values shouldn’t be pushed to the side when he enters Tyson’s doors. “If people can talk about the football game on Monday, why can’t they talk about their faith?” he said. Tyson Foods provides its employees with chaplain services and prayer time in addition to donating mass amounts of food to America’s poor.

Here are a few more companies giving back and giving you adorable products: Sevenly (a different charity per week); Lusso Bags (made to end human trafficking); Hill Country Hill Tribers (Christian-based supporting refugee families); iSanctuary (made by human trafficking survivors).